Published 4:00 am, Tuesday, August 4, 1998

"We don't need these problems or vendettas with every team we play. It ain't necessary," said Giants manager Dusty Baker, who finds himself smack in the middle of controversies involving both teams.

As the Giants awaited a suspension to be slapped on Barry Bonds for his part in Sunday's brawl, they completed a four-game sweep of the Phillies with Monday's 6-1 victory. Marvin Benard collected another four hits, and Danny Darwin and four relievers had little trouble with the Phillies' offense.

The finale didn't pass without another ugly episode, this one involving J.T. Snow and Phillies reliever Wayne Gomes. Only a courageous peace-making effort by 300-plus-pound umpire Eric Gregg prevented another free-for-all.

After Gomes struck out Snow in the eighth inning, he made a get-out-of-here gesture with his glove and barked at the batter. Snow turned around and several Giants rushed from the bench. If not for Gregg throwing his weight around and ordering everyone to back off, another brawl would have ensued.

"I issued a warning that if anyone crosses this line, he'll go. They listened," Gregg said. "I got permission from the league office to eject anyone I wanted, so I'm God right now."

The teams retreated to their respective dugouts and finished the game without further incident - even during a Bonds-Ricky Bottalico rematch in the ninth inning. One day earlier, Bonds was plunked by Bottalico and charged the mound. This time, he popped to left on the first pitch.

Afterward, Gomes admitted he was still upset about Snow's antics from Sunday. Snow had homered off Gomes, watched the ball leave the park and flipped his bat on the infield. Snow did it, he said, because he didn't like seeing Bonds get hit two batters earlier.

"He's up there hitting it 372 feet and watching every foot of it. I took that kind of personally," Gomes said.

"Next time I face him, I'll take care of it."

Snow's reaction: "If something happens, I'll deal with it."

For the record, the next Giants-Phillies battle is Aug. 28 at Candlestick.

Before that game, perhaps Baker and Phillies manager Terry Francona will meet to clear the air over their disagreement. Monday, Francona disputed Baker's claim that Bottalico entered the game strictly to plunk Bonds.

"Yes, I did have a lot of opinions yesterday," Baker said. "I was very opinionated. I'm just glad nobody asked me about world affairs and how to solve them. That's a side Terry probably doesn't know about me or hasn't seen before.

"That's his opinion. I respect Terry a lot as a person and manager. Everyone has different opinions. If everyone had the same opinion, it'd be a boring world."

After Monday's game, the Giants hopped on a bus and fled to New York for their final three games of the trip. They'll oppose another wild-card candidate and another manager with opinions.

Bobby Valentine recently predicted his team would win the wild-card race because it's clearly tops among the remaining candidates. He intimated the Giants don't rank with the Mets and that Baker has overused his bullpen. At the time, Baker responded by saying he didn't appreciate the criticism and recommended that he be left alone.

"Me and Bobby are cool. It's just that everyone's got their own opinions," Baker said Monday, adding he won't use Valentine's comments as bulletin fodder. "If you need someone else to help rally you, you're in the wrong game. I'm going to manage my team the best way I can."

Baker's managing worked splendidly through the Phillies series. The Giants batted .356 and scored 36 runs in the four games, and Benard and Bonds were the leaders. Benard went 12-for-18 and scored seven runs as the leadoff hitter (in the wake of the Darryl Hamilton trade), and Bonds was 7-for-15 with eight RBIs and was booed heavily each at-bat on Monday.

Shortstop Rich Aurilia made the defensive play of the series, robbing Doug Glanville in the finale with a diving catch in the fourth inning. The Phillies had two runners in scoring position, but Aurilia's catch ended the threat and preserved the Giants' 2-0 lead.

The Phillies never threatened again, and the Giants' three insurance runs in the ninth clinched the sweep.

"You want to do it against everybody, especially teams going against you for the wild card," Baker said. "The next step is New York, which is right behind us in the wild-card race. We've got more work to do." &lt;